Hippocrates was born in 460 B. C. in the city of Cos, on the island of the same name. Both his father and grandfather were eminent physicians, descendants of Aesculapius. On his mother’s side he traced his descent from Hercules. The famous painter, Apelles, also hailed from the city of Cos. To distinguish Hippocrates from an earlier individual of the same name he was called Hippocrates II., or the Great. He is said to have received his first instruction in medicine at the school of the Asclepiadae in his native city, but his frequently repeated and very favorable comments on the teachings of the Cnidian school[24] have led some to believe that he may have received a part of his medical training at the latter institution. At a later period of his life his popularity as a teacher of medicine, in the school of the Asclepiadae at Cos, attracted many pupils to that city. In accordance with a custom which prevailed among the physicians of ancient Greece, Hippocrates, at the beginning of his career, spent quite a long time in Athens, and then traveled about, from one city to another, in the character of a periodeutic or itinerant physician. In this way, as he himself reports in some of his writings, he visited Thessaly, Thrace, the Island of Thasos, Scythia, the countries bordering on the Black Sea, and even Northern Egypt. Owing largely to domestic troubles he left his home in Cos, during the latter part of his career, and removed to Thessaly. He died about 370 B. C. at Larissa, at an advanced age. Soranus of Ephesus, the celebrated obstetrician, reported that in his time (second century A. D.) the tomb of Hippocrates was still standing, and that it had been taken possession of by a swarm of bees whose honey was far-famed for its efficacy in curing ulcers of the mouth in children. Among the pupils of Hippocrates were his two sons, Draco and Thessalus, and his son-in-law, Polybus. Thessalus, in the capacity of a military surgeon, accompanied Alcibiades on his expedition to Sicily, and later in his career he served as private physician to Archelaus, King of Macedonia. It is also believed that a number of the writings in the Hippocratic collection are from his pen. On the other hand, it is a well-established fact that Polybus is the author of a few of these treatises. When Hippocrates gave up the work of teaching, his son-in-law, who was at that time engaged in private practice in Cos, was chosen his successor in the school. Among the many anecdotes which are related of Hippocrates, there is one which may with propriety be repeated here:--